Italy's fleet of close to 100 Eurofighter Typhoons are a stark contrast to Poland's secondhand, albeit upgraded, Fulcrums. The Typhoon's blistering performance, incredible 'sensor fused' avionics and pilot interface make it a threat to virtually any aircraft in the world that dares to stand against it.

With Russia drastically changing its geopolitical stance on the world stage, the Baltic Air Policing mission is not just about protecting air sovereignty or intercepting unresponsive aircraft as it largely was for many years. Now it's become a tripwire force should this new emerging Cold War with Russia ever go hot. With that in mind, along with the need to meet the demand of constant Russian military flights skirting the Baltics, NATO members are sending more aircraft to support the mission and arming them more heavily than ever before.

Tyler Rogoway is a defense journalist and photographer who maintains the website Foxtrot Alpha for Jalopnik.com You can reach Tyler with story ideas or direct comments regarding this or any other defense topic via the email address Tyler@Jalopnik.com